Daily News

Bishops Issue Statement on Religious Liberty (13430)

'An unjust law cannot be obeyed,' they state, in face of growing threats to freedom.

Archbishop William Lori is not counseling immediate civil disobedience, but said Americans may be faced with a Thomas More-like decision.

– Diocese of Bridgeport

WASHINGTON — Marking a new era of intense church-state friction, the U.S. Catholic bishops issued a hard-hitting statement today that defends the free exercise of religious institutions in the United States and abroad.

In doing so, they oppose any “accommodation” with “unjust” laws and outline plans for prayer and catechetical initiatives designed to strengthen an embattled constitutional right.

“Our First, Most Cherished Liberty: A Statement on Religious Liberty,” issued by the Ad Hoc Committee on Religious Liberty of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, is a manifesto that celebrates the central role of religious freedom in democratic society and governance and expresses alarm about political and legal attempts to redefine, and ultimately constrain, the “first freedom.”

In the document, the conference unveils plans for a “'fortnight for freedom,' in which bishops in their own dioceses might arrange special events to highlight the importance of defending our first freedom.”

The document proposes that “June 21 — the vigil of the feasts of St. John Fisher and St. Thomas More — to July 4, Independence Day, be dedicated to this ‘fortnight for freedom.’”

The statement injects a palpable note of urgency, clearly identifying immediate threats to religious liberty, and calling on Catholics to shake off their complacency and prepare to confront a new and daunting reality.

“It is a sobering thing to contemplate our government enacting an unjust law. An unjust law cannot be obeyed. In the face of an unjust law, an accommodation is not to be sought, especially by resorting to equivocal words and deceptive practices,” reads the conference document, in a reference to the federal contraception mandate, approved on Jan. 20, and President Obama’s subsequent “accommodation,” which the bishops rejected as “unacceptable.”

“If we face today the prospect of unjust laws, then Catholics in America, in solidarity with our fellow citizens, must have the courage not to obey them. No American desires this. No Catholic welcomes it. But if it should fall upon us, we must discharge it as a duty of citizenship and an obligation of faith,” stated the document.

Asked whether the statement calls on U.S. Catholics to refuse to comply with the mandate, Archbishop-designate William Lori of Baltimore, the chairman of the USCCB Ad Hoc Committee for Religious Liberty, noted during an interview that the statement’s forthright comments “do not mean that we go to civil disobedience in the first instance. But it means that we should exercise our rights and seek redress from all three branches of the government, as we are with the HHS mandate."

“But if a law is asking us to violate our conscience,” he acknowledged, “then we could be faced with a Thomas More choice.”

‘Long-Term Struggle’

The archbishop-designate said the new document looks beyond the current challenge of the HHS contraception mandate “to an array of challenges to religious liberty. We see this as a long-term struggle and something that will be a feature of our religious life for a long time to come.”

The document clarifies what is at issue in the HHS mandate dispute, citing Archbishop-designate Lori’s testimony before Congress this winter:

“This is not a matter of whether contraception may be prohibited by the government. This is not even a matter of whether contraception may be supported by the government. Instead, it is a matter of whether religious people and institutions may be forced by the government to provide coverage for contraception or sterilization, even if that violates their religious beliefs.”

During an interview, Archbishop-designate Lori also confirmed that the conference was organizing a response to the Obama administration’s latest initiative designed to address the concerns of self-insured religious institutions that could not benefit from the administration’s suggestion that objecting religious institutions could transfer the financial responsibility for providing co-pay-free contraception services to their insurance companies.

In the wake of President Obama’s Feb. 10 “accommodation,” opponents of the HHS mandate have expressed frustration with the lack of resolution to the conflict, and some question the value of sustaining a dialogue with the administration. But Archbishop-designate Lori said the bishops would continue to work on parallel tracks — communication with the administration while advancing legal and legislative remedies.

“We have to stay the course,” he said. “We can’t say, ‘We’ve already made our comments,’ nor can we say, ‘We made comments, and they didn't do any good.’ We must be charitable, civil, clear and persistent.”

The 12-page statement on religious liberty uses religious and secular arguments and sources to foster respect for religious freedom and foment public resistance to federal and state laws that suppress the free exercise of religious institutions and conscience rights.

“The bishops acknowledge that the Catholic Church has benefited greatly from the American system of religious liberty. They point out, correctly, that the Church’s teaching on religious freedom was highly influenced by American Catholics and by the protections afforded the American Catholic minority by the First Amendment,” said Thomas Farr, director of Georgetown University’s Religious Freedom Project.

“In part, out of gratitude for this legacy, but also speaking from the heart of the Church and from a sense of civic responsibility, the bishops now sound the alarm: Religious liberty is under attack in America today,” Farr added.

‘New Level of Candor’

In a break from conference statements that focused on the articulation of broad theological and moral principles, “Our First, Most Cherished Liberty” specifies concrete threats to religious liberty, including the federal contraception mandate.

The statement’s authors call on the nation’s political establishment to uphold the Constitution and defend the role of religious witness as central to the common good.

“This ought not to be a partisan issue. The Constitution is not for Democrats or Republicans or Independents. It is for all of us,” reads the statement. Here, the authors express frustration with election-year politics, which have led some Democrats to mischaracterize the Church’s opposition to the contraception mandate as a “war on women.”

The statement notes other less visible threats to religious freedom, including: attempts to limit the rights of Christian students on U.S. campuses; state immigration bills that penalize churches that serve illegal immigrants; state anti-discrimination and same-sex “marriage” laws that force Catholic adoption and foster-care agencies to close their doors; and the Obama administration’s decision not to renew federal contracts with Catholic humanitarian programs that bar contraception and abortion services to those in need.

In recent years, U.S. Catholic leaders and constitutional scholars have raised the alarm about attempts to redefine and reduce the first freedom to “freedom of worship” rather than a more robust understanding that embraces the full range of religious witness in the public square.

“In today's context, 'freedom of worship' is a kind of code language. It carries the following unstated message: Keep your religious idiosyncrasies inside the church building and out of the public square. That's utterly alien to the thinking of the Founders. It's hostile to the whole lived experience of American religious freedom,” Archbishop Chaput told the Register.

The statement affirms that “religious liberty is not only about our ability to go to Mass on Sunday or pray the Rosary at home. It is about whether we can make our contribution to the common good of all Americans. Can we do the good works our faith calls us to do, without having to compromise that very same faith?

“Without religious liberty properly understood, all Americans suffer, deprived of the essential contribution in education, health care, feeding the hungry, civil rights and social services that religious Americans make every day, both here at home and overseas.”

When the Obama administration first unveiled the HHS contracepiton mandate last fall, the U.S. bishops immediately protested the rule’s narrow definition of what constitutes a religious entity protected under the Free Exercise Clause of the Constitution. Only churches and organizations that serve and employ coreligionists are exempted, while Catholic social agencies, hospitals and universities must comply.

“The bishops rightly say that the Church’s institutional ministries ought not to be put to the unjust choice between continuing to provide their services, and retention of their Catholic identity,” said Gerard Bradley, a law professor at the University of Notre Dame.

“The bishops could have even more strenuously made the point that these apostolates contribute to the common good not only by teaching, healing, and feeding, but also by integrating earthly service with the Gospel. Their chief value is a true and perspicuous witness to the Catholic faith,” Bradley suggested.

John Garvey, the president of The Catholic University of America, a constitutional scholar and a consultant to the USCCB Committee for Religious Liberty, suggested that the effort to redefine and contain religious witness reflects the secularization of the culture, in marked contrast to the faith-inspired social movements that have shaped American political history.

“The abolitionists and the leaders of the civil-rights movement were religious leaders themselves, and their message was the message of the Gospel. The Catholic Church’s campaign against legal abortion also is a form of religious witness,” said Garvey, making the point that a redefinition of the first freedom could result in a redefinition of what it means to be an American.

The U.S. bishops' long-awaited statement on religious liberty is expected to be the centerpiece of a broad and intense effort by Catholic leaders to educate and energize the faithful, preparing them for a world where religious freedom will not be secured without a fight, and perhaps hard, difficult choices.

Comments

seektruth319 If you can back your opinions with sound Catholic principles, please do so. Otherwise, you make vague comments. The Pontiffs said it; that settles it. We are always on solid ground when we speak from the heart of Holy Mother Church.

14 “....To recoil before an enemy, or to keep silence when from all sides such clamors are raised against truth . . . is insulting to God, and both are incompatible with the salvation of mankind.” SAPIENTIAE CHRISTIANAE http://www.papalencyclicals.net/Leo13/l13sapie.htm

“. . .For the teaching authority of the Church, which in the divine wisdom was constituted on earth in order that revealed doctrines might remain intact for ever, and that they might be brought with ease and security to the knowledge of men, and which is daily exercised through the Roman Pontiff and the Bishops who are in communion with him, has also the office of defining, when it sees fit, any truth with solemn rites and decrees, whenever this is necessary either to oppose the errors or the attacks of heretics, or more clearly and in greater detail to stamp the minds of the faithful with the articles of sacred doctrine which have been explained…” (Pope Pius XI, Mortalium Animos, January 6, 1928.)

Posted by Rick DeLano on Saturday, Apr 14, 2012 11:59 AM (EDT):

“What then should a Catholic do if some part of the Church were to separate itself from communion with the universal Faith? What other choice can he make but to prefer to the gangrenous and corrupted member the whole of the body that is sound.

“And if some new contagion were to try to poison no longer a small part of the Church, but all of the Church at the same time, then he will take the greatest care to attach himself to antiquity which, obviously, can no longer be seduced by any lying novelty.”——

(St. Vincent of Lerins, Confessor, 5th century, Commonitorium)

Posted by CameronW on Friday, Apr 13, 2012 8:28 PM (EDT):

This isn’t about religious freedom. The only people whose rights are being violated are those who desire contraception but will be denied because of their employers imposing their views on them.

Posted by seektruth319 on Friday, Apr 13, 2012 3:27 PM (EDT):

@Joe, criticizing a position is a valid “option”. Telling people you disagree with that they are not really Catholic is not a valid “option” if you want to be taken seriously. You can do the former without remaining “silent”. Telling someone you disagree with that they are not Catholic is essentially name calling. If all of our lives were laid out in public for all to see, I have a feeling that the people who so readily tell others that they are not Catholic enough would themselves have a lot of embarrassing issues to explain to their Catholic brethren (see, remove the plank from your own eye before removing the splinter from your brother’s). I have been accused of being Protestant because I do not see the socialist-Catholic partnership’s path to “truth”. The same criticism arose earlier in this comment section. It is actually kind of funny because it is almost like Catholic elites and academics who disagree with free market and small government principles are trained to immediately attack the opposition’s Catholicism in their opening salvo. It happens time and time again. In sum, criticizing and debating a position or belief as not being in line with Catholic teaching is fine, but saying “you’re not really a Catholic” or “you’re not Catholic enough” is sinful, childish, and arrogant, in addition to being absurd. And that is the TRUTH.

Posted by Bob Rowland on Friday, Apr 13, 2012 2:28 PM (EDT):

There seems to be an abundance of red herrings to obfuscate the real issues of religious freedom.

Posted by Joe on Friday, Apr 13, 2012 1:51 PM (EDT):

seektruth319, you said,“But criticizing another’s Catholicness is absurd”. Silence is not an option, seektruth329, and seeking Truth, which is only found in Holy Mother Church is never wrong. If it were so you would not be voicing only your opinion but could substantiate your position more clearly. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Religious Liberty cannot be proclaimed. Being a Catholic bound by Truth is not an option.

Posted by seektruth319 on Friday, Apr 13, 2012 12:09 PM (EDT):

@Larry good comment regarding @JMJ. My experience has been that certain Catholics, when they cannot argue a point or are over emotional, resort right away to claiming the opposing side is less Catholic or not Catholic at all. I have had Catholic academics go right to the “your opinions are Protestant” line of argument when discussing economics, while they vote for an prop up abortionists. I love being Catholic. I follow all of the Church’s teachings as best as I can, including my wife and I ceasing using contraception at my request two years ago and deciding to trust in our Lord Jesus Christ to decide when or if my wife and I should be blessed with another child. None of us is perfect. But criticizing another’s Catholicness is absurd.

Posted by seektruth319 on Friday, Apr 13, 2012 11:58 AM (EDT):

@JMJ, Saint Paul (Saul of Tarsus) had conflicts and disagreement with Saint Peter, the first Pope, and as you know Paul is a saint. Therefore, telling TtT that he has put his foot into the pits of Hell for his criticism of the Pope is off base. Popes are not infallible in all matters. “Papal infallibility is a dogma of the Catholic Church which states that, by action of the Holy Spirit, the Pope is preserved from even the possibility of error when in his official capacity he solemnly declares or promulgates to the universal Church a dogmatic teaching on faith or morals.” In other words, the Pope’s solemn and official Church stance on abortion or other moral issues is infallible (of course, assuming that the sitting Pope is a valid Pope). Engaging in strategic political relationships which then blow up in your face are subject to criticism and should be criticized - they are not solemn teachings in the Pope’s official capacity. Please look up the word “solemn” - mere statements are also not necessarily infallible teachings. Note that I am not implying that Benedict XVI is not a valid Pope, but I am saying that we are told to be vigilant in the end times, so when something does not appear to be proper, we need to investigate. I am also not saying that we are in the end times, but, again, we must be vigilant and look for the signs that Jesus foretold.

Posted by Larry on Friday, Apr 13, 2012 10:48 AM (EDT):

@JMJ—Your uncharitable remarks about TtT are and example
of what this all about. Freedom of speech, religion etc.
You both criticize those who exercise it and those who
take it away. What does that make you? The Pope himself
I’m sure will tell you that he is not perfect in all things.
What was that you said about clueless of the constitution?

Posted by Larry on Friday, Apr 13, 2012 10:37 AM (EDT):

@TtT Engine—“The starting point of your voting analysis should have
been PRO-LIFE, instead you bit Satan’s hook, line and sinker called
Social Justice and we have 55 million abortions, gay marriage,
environmental paganism and a bankrupt nation to show for it. Anyone
who would doubt that need only look at the record here is a linkhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Federal_Debt_1901-2010.png
The U.S. debt was at it’s lowest in 1973 since after WW2. Since
Roe-V-Wade passed it has exploded. Both parties are clearly at
fault for the debt. I will add, if they can convience us that
it ok to kill children, to the point that we’re not protesting
in the streets until this outrageous law is reversed, they can
convience us of anything. They already know you’re all bark and
no bite. If they can now convience us that it the CHURCHES that
are evil, that they no longer have what in in the interest of this
country, GOD himself will be outlawed.

Posted by Flamen on Friday, Apr 13, 2012 10:28 AM (EDT):

Religious freedom or a war against contraceptives. The bishops do not seem to want an accommodation with the administration. Let the insurance companies pay for thses services, not the church institutions directly. Our German Pope, Joseph Ratzinger, Benetict XVI and the German bishops do not strive to overthrow the German national health system which pays for contraceptives for girls up to the age of 20 and abortion services for the poor who have a medical reason. Are our bishoops more Catholic than the Pope?

Posted by Joe on Friday, Apr 13, 2012 10:18 AM (EDT):

Change is what the Obama administration ran on and he had a good teacher, the 1962-1965 Vatican II council. USCCB supported ACORN with millions of dollars donated and Vatican II is the blueprint of change to Catholic dogmas and doctrines. No wonder posters are all over the place with this issue. They no not stand on what Holy Mother Church teaches. Vatican II spin has created amazing confusion to what is Truth.

Posted by Rafael on Friday, Apr 13, 2012 9:17 AM (EDT):

I read an article in the New York Times - of all places - that the liberal-progressive Catholics are accusing the Bishops of being “an arm of the Republican party in an effort to defeat Barack Obama:”

WHAT???!!!! First of all, we wouldn’t have Barack Obama in office if IT WASN’T for the liberal bishops not guiding the flock appropriately. A lot of these bishops are IN BED WITH THE DEMOCRAT PARTY!!! AND THEY’RE NOT USING CONTRACEPTION!!!!! They’re fully “giving birth” to their agendas, feeding these children, clothing them and they’re not advocating for “population control” of these liberal politicans and voters: they want more of them!!! I disagree with approaching this fight from the religious liberty angle because appart from this being a religious liberty issue - among many - this really is a RIGHT TO LIFE issue because the RIGHT TO LIFE is the FIRST RIGHT. The Chuch opposes contraception because it’s a RIGHT TO LIFE issue - not a religious freedom issue. You don’t have to be Catholic to understand this. If you don’t have life, you don’t have religious liberty - or ANY liberty.

Posted by vivian Noronha on Friday, Apr 13, 2012 8:55 AM (EDT):

Obama wants to destroy the Catholic church,because it is a power, civil,cultural and religious, not to his liking.He is not a christian and there are doubts about what he really is.His aim is to make the Church a toothless organization beholden to himself.He is on a mission to divide catholics from their leaders i.e. the Bishops, so that he and his catholic lackeys can set the agenda for the church.

It is good that the Bishops have awakened to the dangers . That silence or going to bed with the administration will be their waterloo.The decision to hold a fortnight of action by focusing on “Freedom” is well thought.Fasts,Prayers ,and utilisation of all peaceful methods must be planned out on a national scale.There should also be a movement to demand the Democrats drop Obama as their Presidential candidate as a divisive element for the good of the nation or Catholics should plan not to vote him back into the White House.Civil Disobediance is the final weapon and the Bishops must then lead from the front.Testing matters before the Hon Supreme Court is also an option?

Posted by JMJ on Friday, Apr 13, 2012 8:29 AM (EDT):

TtT: you started out good, but, when you attacked our very Holy Pope, The Vicar of Jesus, you put your foot into the pits of hell. I bet that you belong to “Fr.” Gruner (the suspended priest) or even to the so-called ‘traditionalists’ that call themselves ‘catholic’, but, have been outside of the Church for so long. Hey DONNELj: just what countries are you talking about? It seems that you have the Muslims mixed up with God’s Church. It doesn’t surprise me that so many people are clueless about our Constitution and what the framers had in mind when they set up our form of government as what they have for ‘history’ books and what the ‘teachers’ are plying (or not correctly plying) our children’s minds with completely watered down garbage. All forms of Religion have been removed from the classrooms and now we have a completely false knowledge of what this country is all about. It is amazing how in Psalms 108:8, Obama is mentioned, not by name of course, just allured too: “May his days be few; may another take his office” (NAB). WE NEED TO STOP THE EVIL OF OBAMAMISN NOW!!! +JMJ+

Posted by Steve on Friday, Apr 13, 2012 6:26 AM (EDT):

Obama and his media have, with some success, managed to confuse this issue. No one anywhere had tried to deny the availability of contraception, yet that claim has become a part of the debate. One commenter says (and it is an oft-parroted statement); “if you don’t like contraception, don’t use it.” However, the issue is; If you are morally opposed to contraception, sterilization or abortifacients, you will still be forced to pay for it. Another commenter asserts that the church’s record on religious liberty is duplicitous, thus rendering such objections to this law hypocritical and not credible. One could debate that forever. For the most part the history of the matter is that the church tried to secure the religious liberty of Catholics in the face of aggressive, hostile and violent Calvinist and Lutheran factions. (Indeed there were indefensible acts on all sides). However, that is not pertinent to the fact that the HHS mandate will require religious people and institutions to violate their beliefs.

Posted by TtT Engine on Friday, Apr 13, 2012 12:15 AM (EDT):

If any of you ever voted for [including our most reverend cardinals, bishops, priests, nuns and deacons] for Ted Kennedy, John Kerry, Joe Biden, Nancy Pelosi, Bill Clinton or Barack Obama[our Planned Parenthood President good buds with Fr. Jenkins at Notre Dame] or ANY other anti-life candidates or you supported obama abortion care, “sit down and close your mouth” and worship your 30 pieces of silver. EVERY ONE of you caused this crisis and used your free will to vote in evil and now you are crying over the “spilled milk”. Come clean, go to confession, perform enless acts of good works and fasting. Take the medicine you have chosen for all of us. It is very simple, you have not supported life in the most important place, YOUR VOTE. This evil has been our scourge for almost 50 years. Being pro-life to you meant , PERHAPS, never directly engaing in an abortion. This evil position was also promoted by Gov. Mario Cuomo also platformed at our most holy Notre Dame. Remember, “I would never engage in abortion, but I respect a woman’s right to choose”. Thanks, Mario and Geraldine, honey, that worked out real well for us. The starting point of your voting analysis should have been PRO-LIFE, instead you bit Satan’s hook, line and sinker called Social Justice and we have 55 million abortions, gay marriage, environmental paganism and a bankrupt nation to show for it. Benedict Arnold, oh excuse me, Bendict XVI is more concerned with designer sneakers, designer cologne, Sombreros, broken down communist dictators and flower gardens rather than calling out these devils in high places who posture as catholics and who have fertilzed the culture and garden of death. God will have the Last Word. Pray for His justice and mercy. PRAY AND VOTE FOR THE UNBORN ALWAYS, “the least of our brethren”. NOV. 2012 is your last chance ! PRINT THIS, IT IS THE TRUTH. Christi Fidelis !! p.s. Not heard from the pulpit, you in a fantasy land, brother. Keep it light, keep it soft, like Charmin. Don’t offend anyone, not even the evil one.

Posted by seektruth319 on Thursday, Apr 12, 2012 10:34 PM (EDT):

I am a devoted Catholic. When the Church rubs elbows with this administration to support “goodies” like “free” healthcare and issues statements that support higher taxation and excessive government involvement in what should be local charity work they should not be surprised at where we are at this time. Lesson: when you support big government programs you get big government which tends to run amock and trample everyone’s freedoms for the “greater good”. Stop hob nobbing with socialists Church leadership.

Posted by Carolyn Paxton on Thursday, Apr 12, 2012 9:09 PM (EDT):

To keep the cost of insurance down for employers many have in their contracts a clause that will not pay for elective procedures.
Contraception and aboartion are both elective procedures, so why all the fuss because an employer does not want them covered in the insurance that he/she is paying for?

Posted by Antonio A. Badilla on Thursday, Apr 12, 2012 6:33 PM (EDT):

“Is this a joke? The Catholic church demanding “religious freedom?” The checkered history of the the Catholic Church denying “religious freedom” in many countries is legendary.”

You wrote it, is it “legendary,” NOT historically “accurate!” I seem to remember a passage of Scriptures where Jesus stated, “Either you are for Me or against me.” You don’t have to participate in what the bishops are asking us to do but to have the nerve to attack the Church on a Catholic newspaper is beyond that which I’m willing to endure! Go to the National Catholc Reporter, your views will be welcome there!
The Catholic Church is asking for religious freedom NOT just for Catholics but for all believers, just like Mother Theresa of Calcutta fed everyone regardless of religious affiliation.

Posted by Antonio A. Badilla on Thursday, Apr 12, 2012 6:23 PM (EDT):

Rover, you stated “This seems to be more anti-contraception than a religious liberty fight IMO.” This has never been the argument of the Bishops and you know it. Your argument is the false argument the Obama Administration is using as a talking point to convince millions of Americans there is a war on women.
Have the bishops made mistakes in the past? You bet they have made mistakes and some very bad mistakes we are still paying for, like allowing priests to abuse children and then sending them to other parishes to do the same. Should we support such bishops? No, they should be in jail, but at this moment in history the issue of religios freedom is right up against our face and instead of you confusing the issue, what is needed from all Catholics is to support all the bishops in their efforts to defend our freedom of religion because that is, whether you admit it or not, the main issue, not contraception, although Humanae Vitae has made that utterly clear.

Posted by Jon Haines on Thursday, Apr 12, 2012 5:40 PM (EDT):

This is great that the bishops are commenting on the issue with the same amount of force. DonnelJ think it is important to clarify what is meant by religious liberty…and liberty in general. The document Libertas Praestantissimum by Leo XIII does an excellent job at that…I am starting analyze it here http://www.battleforthecoreoftheworld.com/2012/04/on-nature-of-true-liberty-1-3.html . It is astonishing how predictive the document (written in 1888) is for the future of the relationship between the Church and state…

Posted by Rob on Thursday, Apr 12, 2012 5:38 PM (EDT):

This is great that the bishops are commenting on the issue with the same amount of force. I think it is important to clarify what is meant by religious liberty…and liberty in general. The document Libertas Praestantissimum by Leo XIII does an excellent job at that…I am starting analyze it here http://www.battleforthecoreoftheworld.com/2012/04/on-nature-of-true-liberty-1-3.html . It is astonishing how predictive the document (written in 1888) is for the future of the relationship between the Church and state

Posted by Rick DeLano on Thursday, Apr 12, 2012 4:59 PM (EDT):

@ Joe on Thursday, Apr 12, 2012 12:51 PM (EST):

Bingo.

Sow the wind.

Reap the whirlwind.

Posted by DonnelJ on Thursday, Apr 12, 2012 4:13 PM (EDT):

Is this a joke? The Catholic church demanding “religious freedom?” The checkered history of the the Catholic Church denying “religious freedom” in many countries is legendary.

Posted by Dan S on Thursday, Apr 12, 2012 3:55 PM (EDT):

If we don’t find a way to turn this back, it won’t be long before we are forced to fund abortions, and forced to have them if we’ve reached our limit.

I thank God for the latest Statement by our U.S. Bishops; “Our First Most Cherished Liberty; A Statement for religious liberty.” As Timothy Cardinal Dolan repeated stated the issue is not about contraception, birth control or pills which literally abort the beginning of life. It is about the HHS Mandate which gives a government agency, with the endorsement of the President, the power to draw a line between what the Church, which Christ founded, teaches from the pulpit and how each member of the Church, ordained or unordained is to witness that teaching by word and example in every aspect of their lives. To give one inch to the Govenment to be allowed to “prohibit the free exercise of one’s religion” (First Amendment) will open the door one day for the government to tell us what we can and cannot teach about Faith and Morals in our Catholic Educational Institutions from elementary schools to our Universities. We have always taught that the sanctity of marriage is in the conjugal relationship of a man and a woman, as found in the book of Genesis, the New Testament and the Teachings of the Church. The fact that the President of the United States has instructed his Federal Attorny General not to prosecute any cases in violation of the Federal “Defense of Marriage Act” is more than civil disobedience. It is a total disregard for the Law. At the same time, this disrespect could find its way into forbidding any level of Catholic Education Institutions from teaching that homosexual acts are unnatural and that same sex marriage is intrinsically wrong and against the Word of God.

One blogger critized the Bishops for not speaking out against abortion. That is blatantly not the truth. The Church has been teaching against abortion since as found in the Didache (crica 60-120 A.D.)as well as against pediophilia. Yes, some bishops did cover up in the sexual abuse scandals but the Church is a Church of sinners and saints. The Church is in a process of purification based upon the Gospel which will take some time but that does not mean our bishops don’t have the right and even the duty to walk in the footsteps of St. John Fisher who spoke out against King Hemry the VIII because he wanted to commit official adultery. It was this courageous bishop and St. Thomas More, the lay Chacellor of the Realm who gave up their lives rather than deny a Commandment of God and the Gospel of Christ Jesus. It is this same moral courage that the Church should exhibit now, laity and clergy, in supporting the first important step of prayer and witness during the proposed “Fortnight fro Freedom” from June 21 to July 4th. As Americans and as Catholics, or whatever belief system we may adhere to, we should remember the revered words that Thomas Jefferson wrote in the Bill of Righst; “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their CREATOR with certain unlienabgle rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these rights Governments are instituted among men deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.”

Government agencies have long violated these sacred words by mandates not with the consent of the governed. The reality is that Obamacare, those voted by the part of the majority in office, is that the actually Bill did was hot able, nor was it posssible, for the majority of Congress to even read it before voting on it. The HSH Mandate is part of this absurd end run of the “consent of the governed.” Now, that the Mandate is being rejected by the Catholic Bishops and many of their Faithful, the consent of the governed is not only being challenged but the very interpretation of the First Amendment with sheer dis-regard for it’s meaning, as found in Congressianl Records back to 1787 onward. It may take the Supreme Court, without the prejudice of the President towards this equal branch of the Government, to rescue the original intent of the whole First Amendment.

In the meantime, we Catholics and all persons of Faith should stand up for our basic freedom to worship and practice our Faith in our Creator God as we free to do in word and action.

Sincerely,

Deacon John M. Edgerton, Tarpon Springs, Fl.

Posted by Eileen on Thursday, Apr 12, 2012 3:13 PM (EDT):

I am amazed that so many comments reveal a lack of understanding of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. When I first heard of these mandates a red flag popped up and I thought “These people are violating my First Amendment rights”. It took a day or two for the Church to start to comment as well. The rights are fundamental and guaranteed to each and every citizen. They are the birthright of every American. I can’t believe people think they have no value and look at this as an opportunity to make snarky little comments about the bishops. If you don’t want to change to a totalitarian country start thinking.

Posted by tony mangini on Thursday, Apr 12, 2012 2:00 PM (EDT):

Please dear God, through the intercession of st. thomas moore, who sacrificed his head rather than give in to a royal mandate against his conscience, please intercede and pray for us that the leadership of our country be blessed with the grace of conversion of hearts and may the Blessed Mother patron of the United States watch over and protect us. Amen

Posted by Joe on Thursday, Apr 12, 2012 1:51 PM (EDT):

The bishops are having difficulties stating their position because they have not defined, “A truth proposed by the Church as revealed by God”.

Why have the bishops not substantiated their position of “religious liberty” as handed on and defined by Roman Pontiffs? What is the source of “religious liberty”?

Posted by HCSKnight on Thursday, Apr 12, 2012 1:51 PM (EDT):

“‘An unjust law cannot be obeyed,’”

Seriously, as a conservative Catholic I find the Bishop’s behavior to be on par with politicians.

Millions of babies murdered via abortion and they can barely find the voice to speak up.

The seeds of indifferentism sown by Vatican II coming to fruit…. NOW, dressed in their robes they come and call for disobedience to Caesar.

God bless our Roman Catholic Leaders for standing up against the Tyrany of those who are taking over control of our world and intend to destroy kill and steal just like Jesus said in the Gospel of Saint John Chapter 10 verse 10. Keep it up and stand firm and prepare for Martyrdom!

Posted by tz on Thursday, Apr 12, 2012 12:52 PM (EDT):

Meanwhile, over the last decade the PATRIOT act and the following has warrantless searches, writs of assistance (national security letters), torture, extra-judicial assassination even of American citizens, indefinite detention, suspension of habeas corpus, torture…

In airports, with the TSA XXX security theatre, people see an image of you naked and you get groped in a way that if either the images or actions were done by a priest it would be a scandal, but it seems to violate the conscience of no prominent Catholic. There is a no-appeal, star chamber “no fly list”.

The Magna Charta has been shredded - but the bishops cite how much they love one line near the top. The constitution and bill of rights have been shredded - yet they want to preserve and enforce just that one clause.

Rule of law? What about the billionaires who got bonuses from taxpayer bailouts after doing fraud on mortgages and mortgage backed securities. Where is the rule of law? Where is justice? Why does it take Occupy Wall Street to speak on this bright glaring banana republic injustice and corruption instead of anyone from the Catholic world?

Corruption is becoming a crony so you can get your carve-out instead of fixing the system and bringing justice and liberty to bear in all cases on principle.

As the Bishops have been mostly silent, and most of the Catholic world has supported all these other violations and tyrannies, why should not I and the world see this not as anything to do with ACTUAL LIBERTY - which would have required and does require speaking out against all the violations which are even now still occurring, but instead as merely another corrupt crony group lobbying for their special treatment?

If Catholics desire liberty, they should fight for liberty. Every bit of it, in all forms. Every line in the Constitution as originally understood. Every right in the Magna Charta that another Bishop, Steven Langdon, originally wrote.

And what of Bob Jones University (1983) where the court found that the IRS could deny tax deductibility if there was a mere public policy interest. Banning interracial dating was so horrible that we needed to destroy religious liberty back then. But what is different other than looking at contraception is treated today like interracial dating was back then?

Posted by Kay on Thursday, Apr 12, 2012 12:51 PM (EDT):

Sounds like the beginning of the “Hunger Games”.

Posted by ly on Thursday, Apr 12, 2012 12:30 PM (EDT):

Rover, this is not hard.

The status quo cannot be characterized by Catholics preventing the free choice of using birth control. The change to the status quo is a mandate to supply birth control. Again, the status quo is not a curtailment by the Church. The mandate is forcing a group to do something. Therefore, resistance to the mandate cannot also be the same group’s forcing others not to do something.

Posted by Larry on Thursday, Apr 12, 2012 12:29 PM (EDT):

We neeed to pray daily for the church leaders. This is a fight that can and should be won quickly. Within a year. Catholics need to be reminded that this isn’t something that is just happening, it is something that will be allowed. This law will not be forced on us like rain water hits your lawn. This law will be forced on us, first by staying silend, second by voting for this administration. Just like abortion is allowed. If you want to stop abortion, get a thousand people and go stand on the freeway, you’ll get their attention. Many people think that the only way to have justice is to go to church and pray, then say the rosary everyday and all will be ok. God expects us to get our hand dirty once in a while, thats why he made water. Truly nothing will happen without Gods help. But if these are tests we have failed miserably.

Posted by Metro on Thursday, Apr 12, 2012 12:15 PM (EDT):

The Amish are entirely exempt from the Affordable Care Act (and any mandates within it) for religious reasons. Not only them, but every corporation and union that is a buddy to the administration and got on the “exemption” list. Must be the administration is conducting a war on *union* women by denying them free birth control? Huh? What?
This whole schpeel isn’t even consistent enough to be an argument of principles. It’s a political hammer to punish the Church, and attempt to cow it and befuddle cultural Catholics who are trying to ride two horses.
If the administration can make us start to bargain for bits of our constitutional rights - as if they were the dispensers of those rights - then we’ll have lost the game. At that point we’ll be begging the government for permission for any scrap of any of our constitutional rights, and they will have successfully made us subjects.

Posted by Gloria Schotten on Thursday, Apr 12, 2012 12:12 PM (EDT):

(Wisdom 6: 3-7) Admonition to Rulers.

For your dominion was given to you from the Lord,and your sovereignty from the Most High, who will search out your works
and inquire into your plans.
Because as servants of His Kingdom you did not rule rightly,nor keep the law,nor walk accordingly to the purpose of God,
He will come upon you terribly and swiftly,because severe judgment falls on those on high places.
For the lowliest man may be pardoned in mercy, but mighty men will be mightily tested.
For the Lord of all will not stand in awe of any one, nor show deference to greatness; because He Himself made both small and great, and He takes thought for all alike.

There can be no equivocating in this matter of freedom of religion,period! The above scripture speaks for its self. I am so proud of our Bishops for their brave and courageous stand.

Gloria Schotten.

Posted by Roger Filips on Thursday, Apr 12, 2012 11:53 AM (EDT):

So if your insurance would not have paid for a bag of blood you would have refused to write the check yourself out of principal?? Have you no responsibility for your own life? If you are that helpless, you need to support a nanny state to keep you alive. As for me, give me liberty or give me death.

Posted by CD on Thursday, Apr 12, 2012 11:48 AM (EDT):

Rover, We draw the line where we’ve always drawn it. The bishops are only asking for the status quo, not some new authority. The slippery slope claim is not valid. Catholic employers have provided insurance without contraception for decades without triggering other employers to deny transfusions.

Posted by Michael McKinney on Thursday, Apr 12, 2012 11:47 AM (EDT):

The average Catholic in the pew still doesn’t know the WHY. When will the Bishops teach the Church about the evils of contraception? A tremendous opportunity to teach is being missed as usual. Pelosi, Sebelius, Biden all scandalizing and the Bishops don’t address them publicly. I say to little to late Cardinal Dolan! Same reason gay marriage is legal in New York, you preferred to protect the basket rather than preach the truth. I will fight with you even though I know we are doomed to defeat.

Posted by Mark Hartman on Thursday, Apr 12, 2012 11:36 AM (EDT):

Rover, if your employer followed such a religion, and opted out of providing blood transfusions, then it would be your choice whether to continue to work for that employer, seek additional coverage on your own, or accept that the transfusion would not be covered. Simply because your employer provides a benefit does not create an obligation for that employer that supersedes their freedom of religion. In the end analysis, YOU are responsible for your needs; demanding that someone else accommodate your point of view in contravention to their God-given freedoms recognized in the Constitution is entirely un-American, just like a certain resident of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

Posted by Romulus on Thursday, Apr 12, 2012 11:25 AM (EDT):

Transfusions are a healing intervention. Contraception is not. That is the difference, Rover.

Posted by Dan on Thursday, Apr 12, 2012 10:45 AM (EDT):

The use of wine in religious rites was exempt from the enforcement of prohibition (Volstead Act). If this was just about contraception, given the silence of the great majority of bishops on that issue since the 60’s, I doubt there would be such a reaction to the “mandate.”

Posted by Greg on Thursday, Apr 12, 2012 10:39 AM (EDT):

“Where is the line drawn between medical normal procedures and my boss’s religious beliefs.”

Abortions are not “normal medical procedures”. They intend the death of a unique, innocent human being. Contraception is not “normal”, either. At best, it is an abuse of the natural act. At worst, various of the methods are abortafacient.

Finally, abortion is a direct violation of not only the Sixth Commandment but also the direct teachings of the Apostles. In the Didache (AKA “The Teachings of the Apostles), dating from approximately 60 A.D., abortion is specifically and explicitly by name condemned and prohibited.

There is no movement, compromise, or accommodation to be made on this issue. Period.

This seems to be more anti-contraception than a religious liberty fight IMO.

If my employer wouldn’t cover transfusions, I could well be dead. Some religions don’t allow transfusions. Where is the line drawn between medical normal procedures and my boss’s religious beliefs. Whoever draws the line has life and death power.

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